"More end to more innocence," the columnist Dan Shaughnessy wrote in The Boston Globe.

We'll move forward. We always do.

We're back at movie theaters in spite of James Holmes and Aurora. Our kids are in school and enveloped in a sense of normalcy despite Newtown and Columbine.

But we're also more vigilant.

Sad fact: In America's new thesaurus, "vigilant" has become synonymous with "paranoia."

We're already all but strip-searched at airports. We go through metal detectors at some schools. I'm frisked at the media entrance for Titans' games.

Now, we're back to a more alarming color on our heightened security awareness chart.

It's still six weeks until the Cotton Row. No knee-jerk reaction is needed now about extra security.

"We'll be doing what we've been doing. I'm sure we'll have some meetings and talk about it with the track club," said Dink Taylor, the race director for the Cotton Row.

The Alabama Department of Homeland Security said it's going to "assess" security measures at large public gatherings in the state. Specifically mentioned was the upcoming race at Talladega Superspeedway, with a 100,000-plus. (There was probably going to be more security and closer inspection anyway, what with the fan killing himself with a gun last Saturday at the National Rifle Association 500 in Texas.)

Who'd have thought we'd be reading about extra security for the Mullet Toss at Flora-Bama?

Who'd have thought I'd ever be making calls to ask about safety concerns for something as sweetly benign as the Cookie Dash 5K, out in Hampton Cove this weekend?

It's a "great family event," race director Regina Moore told me, and they're expecting 700-800 participants. They'll hold a moment of silence for the Boston victims. There will be a police and HEMSI presence, but no more than usual for any race; it's a safety and traffic issue, not security.

Then again, who'd have thought all our worlds would be rocked by a heinous and cowardly act at the Boston Marathon?